Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil today said the SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya should apologise to farmers over her statement on loan waiver.

The Congress leader, who led a protest at SBI headquarters here this afternoon, said, "She is not a policy- maker at the state or the Centre. Her statement is an infringement on the powers of legislatures. She is a public servant and should remain so.

"The same bank had written off debts of many corporates and the aggregate amount is Rs 1.40 lakh crore. She must not forget it when she talks about farm loans," Vikhe-Patil said.

Bhattacharya had said yesterday that sops like loan waiver may disrupt credit discipline among borrowers.

"We feel that in case of a (farm) loan waiver there is always a fall in credit discipline because the people who get the waiver have expectations of future waivers as well. As such future loans given often remain unpaid," she said.

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